Arc's hunt
by Afro Starfish
Summary: Jaune has seen some stuff in the past, mostly just his families mutilated corpses, and even though it all happened 6 years ago he still wants to find out who the hell killed them. But what'll he have to do in order to complete his hunt
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my first try at writing anything like this so please bear with me here, if you feel the need to give some feedback please do. This is an AU so expect some things to veer from canon. Salem isn't a threat in this so Pyrrha isn't dead, Blake doesn't pussy out (ha, pun) and Yang doesn't lose an arm. Also, Summer doesn't die when Ruby is a toddler. So yea… on with the fic  
**

* * *

Jaune was a simple person, about as simple as can be for a 10 year old aspiring to be a hunter. Even though he wasn't the brightest bulb he knew something was wrong when he visited his home. As soon as he opened the door, the eerie feeling came to him. It was as if an ice cube found its way in between his skin and his spine and just slid _all_ the way down. The familiar wooden floorboards creaking underneath his feet

"Hello?" said a frightened blonde, for his entire life he would always walk through that door knowing that his mother would either be there to welcome him, be in the kitchen or be playing with one of his sisters. This time was different though…

There was no noise whatsoever in the house

"Anyone home?"

He started up the stairs as he unsheathed his practice sword, preparing himself for the unpleasantness that was just around the corner. Literally.

The copious amount of blood around the corner was enough to tell Jaune exactly what happened, add the fact that there was no noise whatsoever…well, it painted a pretty picture for the knight. As he entered his parent's room he saw the two bodies, laid perfectly straight, eyes closed and their hands on their chest. It could have been seen as peaceful, if it wasn't for the fact that across both bodies were multiple lacerations. One that stood out was a deep stab wound in the throat. As could be expected from a child learning his parents were dead he cried, yelled, screamed, cursed, tried to perform black magic, denied that this was a possibility and screamed some more until his lungs burned. After what could've been mere minutes or hours he realised that his sisters weren't there in sorrow with him, his eyes widened in shock as he raced down the hallway and into his little sisters room, where Charlotte, Hannah and Jessica lay in bed. At this time of night he would've thought that it was them just sleeping. But no…

They suffered the same fate as their parents.

Various stab wounds and slashes were found on the trios bodies, which were in the exact same pose as the adults of the house. But Jaune couldn't really say that since the _adults_ of the house were dead.

Backing out, shaking his head he went into the room directly across the hall where the twins, Emma and Georgie would spend hours talking to each other. But even before he walked in, he could hear no chatter about clothes, boy bands or the latest gossip from combat school. Daring himself to open the door, he found the same outcome as the previous two. His mouth was opening and closing again, opening and closing but with no sound coming out. With tears rolling down his cheeks he stumbled out of his sisters tomb and looked into the only other relatives room

His twin sister Jane wasn't home to Jaunes relief, maybe she got out alive. But his room wasn't safe from the rampage. Both beds were turned over, the books in the once upright bookshelf tossed around the room, the once pristine wardrobe was practically murdered in its own right with both children's clothes ripped and tossed aside. The scene was terrifying as this amount of damage could've been inflicted on his twin, his other halve.

But it had been inflicted on his other siblings.

Crying to no one in particular he went to sleep, dreaming of his families faces smiling at him. But suffering because of the dead look in their eyes

(XIXIX)

Even though Jaune went to sleep and didn't wake up until around lunch time, didn't mean that he rested well. But hearing his scroll ring was enough to wake him up, the ringtone being one that he hadn't heard from in months. He was about to decline the call, before he realised it might be the eldest of the Arc siblings, Kaylah. Now excited at the possibility that not everyone in his family was dead. Of course after having this thought, he accepted the call

"Hello?" he asked both excitedly and without conviction equating into something that resembled disappointment. Which was the perfect tone for what was to come next

"Jaune!? It's Aunt Summer, where's your mother? I haven't heard from her since yesterday" this came from a familiar, soothing voice came through the receiver. It came from his _Aunty,_ or at least he knew her as Aunt since she practically raised him alongside her husband _Uncle_ Tai. But for her to call now, meant that she didn't know.

Making him the bearer of bad news

Trying to stifle his tears for a few seconds –Trying being the keyword here- he told his aunt  
"I-I came home yester-day *sniffle* an-and" It was about as far as he could go before he completely broke down, he was now in the living room downstairs crying.

"Honey? Look I'm coming over right now. Don't worry, I'll be there in a tic, then it'll be alright." She stayed on the phone while her niece kept on crying back at his home. "It'll be alright, don't you worry. I'm coming up to your house right now. I'll see you inside" and even though she kept reassuring him that everything was going to be alright, it wasn't. Not when the voice that always brought joy hung up on the phone, not when she opened the door and immediately went to hug him. Not when she found the corpse of her best friend and her family dead, not when she took him to her house, not when the local police questioned him.

Not when they said everything was going to be alright

* * *

Following the events of the Arc massacre, the authorities agreed to Jaune being in protective custody of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long, who were both extremely close to the family. During the session there was a brief moment of awkwardness as they discussed his belongings and if he should go back home to collect his things. Of course this was objected by Tai as he looked at the boy in question and made the age old gesture of shaking his hand in front of his throat signalling _no._ Thankfully the Judge quickly caught on that in order for him to get his things he would have to go back into the place where his parents and most of his sisters were murdered.

But on the way to his new home, he only just realised what had just happened. Of course he knew that practically his whole family just died, but that he was never going to see the smiles on Hannah's face whenever he made her favourite cake, or when he would see Georgie's face whenever she would convince him to help her prank the rest of the family. They would never again need to be scared of her pranks ever again at least. The thought made him smile. Some little voice in his head told him he shouldn't be smiling at a time like this, but he was going to look on the bright side of things. As that was the kind of person Jaune Arc was. Not the kind of person to see the glass half full, but the kind that would say 'get a different glass and pour it in' his mother had once said that to him once, said that it meant that no matter the situation, if you change your perspective on it then it'll seem like…

Like things were going to be alright.

 **A/N Not going to lie. It kinda got dark there for a second, not to mention really short. But if I continued then I feel like it would've just been dragged out which I don't personally enjoy when reading something. Next chapter will definitely be a lot more cheerful, and contain more dialogue. I just wanted to make a quick introduction. I say things are going to be a lot more cheerful, but I have something planned which will make things a lot harder for the last Arc left. Again, this is my first Fic so please give me some feedback. Until then, make sure to buckle those seatbelts, tip your waiters and have a good night/day coz I'll be here all year**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Okay, people actually managed to see my fic, that's nice I guess. It also means I have expectations to uphold and that in itself is a bitch, oh well. Even though that this is one week after the first chapter, I don't think that I'll be able to update consistently. I will try to update as soon as I can but the most I can get out is two a month, probably, maybe, not really. Anyway, if you have anything to say about the fic then please do not hesitate. All feedback is greatly appreciated. So yea… on with the fic**

For Jaune Arc, the definition of good changed. Mostly, good was entering the front door of where he lived and not finding it to be riddled with corpses. This also made his definition of bad very one sided, like finding out your house has been turned into a tomb. But when he saw his new house he couldn't help but smile, which spoke volumes considering what he just went through.

The wooden house stood proudly, surrounded by forest. It had two stories, a porch and plenty of room for him to train, which his number one goal in life was once again. If he wanted to find the killer, then he would need to get stronger. As they pulled up to the house he saw the rest of the family. He already knew Taiyang, they had meet when he had come over only a few weeks ago. It was about a Job, which wasn't uncommon since he was still a prominent figure. The other male blonde was standing out on the porch with his arms folded and his lips in a firm line. Even though one of the kindest men he ever knew was found dead, he knew he had to look strong in front of the young boy. As Jaune got out of the car, Tai started talking to him.

"Hey Jaune, how you feeling?" he tried to say it in the most caring way possible, but it unknowingly came out as slightly sarcastic

"Im fine." It was all he could manage, but it was enough to tell Tai that he obviously wanted space.

The other man on the porch was new, and didn't look anything like Tai and the only resemblance to summer was the black hair. He wore a white dress shirt that was untucked, a pair of black slacks with a red tattered cloak. The most distinguishable feature about him was the crimson eyes that he possessed, they were unusual to say the least but it wasn't unexpected. Behind him in the glass window were two young faces. While they looked similar, they definitely didn't look alike. One was the spitting image of his _Aunt_ Summer, with the black hair with red tips and silver eyes. The other one had a long blonde mane, lilac eyes and looked at him with an analytical look. As if she was trying to find out if he were a threat or not, which he definitely wasn't in this state. Without saying a word, he went inside whilst carrying two of his bags before instinctively heading upstairs. Qrow gave him a questionable look but found no response by the young'un.

"He seems full of energy" this was said as crimson eyes meet silver ones

"He's just…upset about his family right now, give him time and space and he'll come to us" Summer sighed, knowing that it could take days, weeks even months before he finally started to move on. She knew that it must have been heartbreaking for him to be the one to see his family in that state, and that bastard of a judge didn't make things easier by making him recount it all, and since Joan and Kaylah weren't found they were presumed dead. So that made the three (including Qrow) the current guardians for him. Even if he was against the idea, they were closest things to family he had right now.

What really worried her right now though was how he was going to handle the truth, about the murderer.

(XIXIX)

"Thanks for having me Mr Xiao long"

Those were all the words he said during dinner, which didn't give Yang all that much to go on. When she heard that they were having a friend of theirs move in with them for a while, she expected another hunter to which she could train with. But nope. Instead, they brought home a blonde boy with blue eyes. She would say that they were piercing, but in reality, they looked like they were glazed. But that really didn't matter right now, what did matter was whether or not he was going to be an ass to her or her sister. If this Jaune was going to be an ass, then he wouldn't be staying long. When their eyes first met through the window, she expected him to give some sort of response. Instead she was greeted by an emotionless face as he walked through the house, not stopping. Those words were also the first she heard from him too, not _'hi, my name's Jaune. I'm not going to be looking through the bathroom lock on the door. I'm not going to be staying here long and I'm not going to hurt your sister'_ which she greatly wanted to hear him say, but no, he didn't. he just moped around the house, looking all glum and sad and shit. It's not like she didn't try to get to know him, it's just that whenever she was going to approach him, her dad would always stop her. Either by giving her chores, playing with ruby or just grabbing her shoulder and giving her _the look_. Most of the time she wouldn't disobey the look, but when it came to somebody she was going to live with she didn't want somebody who could be a psychopath to be living in the same house as her. Then again, her uncle was Qrow Branwen. Still…

Those words may have been the only thing being said by Jaune, but it was also the only thing anybody said at the table. Causing an unpleasant air of awkwardness that she knew everyone also knew about. It was at that point she decided to break the ice.

"Why is Jaune staying here?" she decided to ask finally, making herself known to the boy. His response was to just look at his dinner plate.

"Ahem" Qrow coughed into his hand, his eyes darting towards Tai and back at Yang. Giving the father the time-tested signal of _talk to her._

"Yang, *sigh* I'll tell you after. Just… not right now" He continued to eat his food, disregarding the glare he was receiving from his eldest daughter.

"I'll tell her"

The voice came from across her, it was both quiet and resonating with authority. Even though it came from the person that had only spent a day in the house, his voice hushed all others. She expected a damn good answer if the mere prospect of it was enough to hush all other voice, which wasn't saying much as no one had said anything.

Leaning forward tentatively, Yang was expecting a response. Instead, he continued to eat, finishing off what was left of their fathers questionable spaghetti. _How could he say that he'll tell me, but not actually do anything?_ Yang's inner voice said this accusingly, she heard that voice a lot today. After a brief pause she went back to the meal before her. _Dick_

After dinner, Jaune could be seen heading into his appointed room. Which, coincidentally, was also belonged to Yang. Why her father had let this happen was beyond her comprehension. Before she could say anything about it her father grabbed her shoulder and led her into a quieter part of the house before giving her another chance to appreciate the look.

And it's safe to say that she didn't appreciate it, at all.

"I know that seeing Jaune here can be a bit upsetting, and that you'll want some answers" Damn right she wanted answers. Out of nowhere came this dude she didn't know existed, come stay at her house. In her room no less "But if he doesn't want to tell you the answers, then I'm going to have to ask you to respect that. Right now isn't the best time for him to open up, he's… he's been through some stuff. So…just give him space if he asks for it, Kay?" While her father was waiting for a response, most of it was depicted on her face. It showed her understanding what he wanted, refusing his demands, accepting them among other things. But the general idea was that she was confused to say the least.

"What exactly did he do?" She asked, her voice rising in pitch as it neared the end of her sentence

Tai took a few seconds to form an answer, _Must be something serious._ "If you need the answer, then Jaune will tell you. Right now it's not my place to say what happened. You just need to be patient and give him space" He sure seemed to need space a lot.

"If he needs so much space, why is he staying in my room?"

"Ah" Tai seemed to be happy about answering a question that he _could_ answer "Since your Uncle is living with us until the end of the holidays, he is using the guest room" That seemed to be an adequate answer, one that definitely seemed to make some amount of sense. But still…

"Why does he have to stay with me though? Why can't Ruby stay with in my room, and Jaune take hers?"

The father sighed _, for an 11 year old she was definitely quick with her tongue._ "We don't want him to be in a room all by himself in case … he does something. At least you can calm him down" he had chosen Yang out of Ruby as the blonde hair might have had a comforting effect. It was bullshit and he knew it, but Ruby wouldn't be able to handle a restless Jaune.

"Huff, Fine. But I don't like it"

All of this was said in the lounge, which was conveniently close enough for a certain blonde to eavesdrop, knees to his chest on the staircase.

Sighing, the boy headed into his room and looked around the room. On one side there was a bunk bed made with oak, it seemed to be made by hand. Directly across to the bunk beds was a large desk, with plenty of room for one person. And on the other sides of the door were two closets, as if the room was made for the direct purpose of two people. After putting his bags and stuff away he shuffled into the bottom bunk, attempting to embrace the bliss that was sleep. Normally that would have worked, he would've passed out by now. Instead, some voice of reasoning said ' _Don't sleep, with sleep comes dreams. And nightmares'_. That was the only thing that it had said, but it did the trick. He lay there, partially awake and somewhat asleep. He was awake enough to notice that he was still in reality, but not enough to notice an angry blonde look at him and huff, before climbing to the top. Sleep didn't come to him until very late in the night, but for some reason the nightmares didn't come to him that night.

Despite going to bed very late at night, it seemed that he was the first to wake up. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he got out of his bed before grabbing his clothes and heading into the bathroom to get changed. As he was putting on an orange shirt he looked out of the window. The leaves outside were a beautiful shade of orange, the trunks of the trees were a dark oak and the sky was slowly turning blue as the morning started. Keeping his gaze, he saw the man with dark hair return to the house with a gigantic scythe balancing precariously on his shoulder. Before he actually made it inside however, he stopped. Instead he looked directly at Jaune, guilt plaguing his eyes as he stared at the boy. The gaze held for a few seconds before he headed inside.

As he headed downstairs he could hear a muffled conversation behind a door, by the sounds of things it was between Qrow and Summer. With a sigh he started to work on breakfast, grabbing the various ingredients he would need he started to unconsciously make an amazing meal. As the blonde started to fry the bacon, several years of training made forced his muscle memory to go to work. At the end of it he made a full English breakfast, complete with mounds of hash browns, scrambled eggs, sausages, mashed potato among various other things. There was only one problem though…

I made it for _ten_ people….

At soon as he had that thought that, several heads popped around the corner, stacked one above the other. Ruby's head was on the bottom of the totem pole of heads, and her eyes sparkled (hehe pun) with glee as she immediately used her semblance to gain the upper hand in devouring the mountain of food.

"fo goof… uhhhh" the eight year old tried to articulate her thoughts, however the sheer amount of food was muffling whatever she was trying to say "yuf guys gof _fo_ " with _fo_ , she sprayed Yang with half eaten eggs "try some" As she continued eating, all anyone could do was stare

Everyone had different thoughts at that moment. For Jaune it was a simple loop of ' _Made it for ten, made it for ten….'_ Whereas Yang was simply ' _Eeeeewwwwww._ At that moment her eyes turned into a similar colour of her uncles. Said uncle was just grinning ' _Wow, look at her go. Did she just… inhale that?_ ' seemed like he was impressed at her ability to become a cuter Kirby. The little girl's father however, was having the opposite reaction ' _don't eat so fast, dammit she going to choke'_ and as if the universe was reading Tai's mind, it decided to play a little prank on the father.

Of course, if you were the universe a _prank_ could sacrifice several galaxies. Or in this case, a choking Ruby.

"So goof, Seriouflfy, you guys need to-" A brief second passed before she continued, and when she did no words came out "Ack, Ugh" The eyes of all her family members went wide eyed all of a sudden as they rushed to help the youngest of them all. The next few minutes were…interesting to say the least

Taiyang Xiao Long, known to be one of the more skilled huntsmen in Vale, was frankly shitting himself. He didn't know what to do other than slap his daughters back.

Yang and Summer were both following suit of Tai and panicking, while Qrow just slipped off into the background away from the commotion. Strange considering that his niece was choking in front of him

Jaune on the other hand just calmly went behind Ruby, linked his arms around her stomach and pulled. Immediately the soggy remains of what used to be a sausage flew out of her mouth and landed in Yang's hair. Again.

"Arrgh! Ruby!" was all that Yang could get out before she hurriedly went to the bathroom to quickly clean out any grease in her hair. The once scared faces turned into ones that showed relief, Summer looked at Juane before saying "Last time someone here choked, we had to send them to the hospital. But we aren't going to say who it was as it would be embarrassing" In the background Qrow could be seen scratching his upper lip whilst pointing to Summer, not being subtle in the slightest. After Ruby caught her breath she let out a series of coughs "IM OKAY!" the little girl exclaimed. It was a heart-warming scene, one that you would typically see in those bad family movies when you were younger. Except that not everyone was taking part in the laughter, two blondes in particular weren't laughing. While one was in the bathroom washing her hair, the other one was still staring at was left of the mountain of food.

(XIXIX)

"So Tai tells me you wanted to be huntsmen, that true?"

Jaune looked up from his drawings to see the dark haired man. He still smelled like his usual brew, which was a mystery to the whole family, and his eyes still had that look from before. "I wanted to be one, yea" the blonde went back to his drawings, right now it was just him surrounded by his family. But while his eyes where blue, they had grey in there sockets

"What you drawing kid?"

"Saw it in a dream" he deadpanned. His tone held the slightest bit of tension in it "Do you draw?"

"Pfft, no. I was never good at anything apart from two things" He paused as he pulled out his flask and drank some of his mystery juice "Drinking and killing Grimm. I could teach you a thing or two you know" He donned a shit-eating grin as he said the last part.

"I use a sword, not a giant scythe. So I don't think you can teach me a thing or two" This time he added plenty of hostility to his voice, _the only person that could train me was Kaylah. But she's dead too._

"I use a sword blondie, and I used to go toe to toe with your sister. So if anyone knows how to train you like your sister did, it'd be me" He lost the grin and spoke in a serious tone that was not usually present with the man.

"…"

"…"

The two of them didn't say a word, and it would've been completely silent if it weren't for the gentle scratching coming from the pencils Jaune was using to draw. "Don't want to be a hunter anymore"

"Mhhm, and why's that?" a curious eyebrow rose upwards from the drunks face

Jaune snorted "Why would I want to be one, the Grimm didn't kill my family. Someone did though" he finished drawing his family. His father, mother, and his seven sisters all had grey eyes. The only colour on the paper were eyes and tears belonging to Jaune. "And when I find them, I'll visit their family first"

(XIXIX)

"You sure that he'll be fine without Kaylah?"

The question was directed at Qrow as he was sharpening his weapon _Reaper_ , but he stopped at the sound of that dreaded name. _Damn woman, giving me grief even when she's dead._ After a brief pause he continued his work on the blade, before Tai pulled up a chair by the workbench and sat next to him

Qrow looked into the blondes eyes and smiled "Nope"

"I'm being serious Qrow" Tai deadpanned as he donned an uncharacteristic serious look "She was his mentor, and now that she's gone..." He stopped suddenly as he stared at the silver flask that was usually on the drunk's belt, but was in front of him. He quickly took it and took a swig of the mystery juice, savouring the burning sensation that his throat was experiencing but not the taste "That's vile. But now that she is gone no one is left to teach him how to use a sword"

Qrow sighed "and this involves me why?"

The blonde smiled "What's that you're sharpening over there?" the question was obviously of the rhetoric kind, but that wasn't the point.

Qrow's eyes widened slightly, his mouth opened momentarily before his usual ' _fuck it_ ' attitude returned "A scythe"

"Ahh, no it's not. It's a swo-"

Qrow must have pushed a button that was outside tai's point of view, because said sword began to bend, the end stopping right at Tai's throat, causing him to stop whatever he was going to say. This time Qrow gained the serious look before saying "Nope"

Now angry Tai got off the chair and grabbed the drunk's shoulder "Qrow, I'm being serious here. Who taught his sister to use that sword?"

"…"

"QROW!"

"MY DAD, I KNOW!"

"And who else was taught by your father?"

Qrow regained his signature grin "Raven"

"Oh, so you just picked up a sword and knew how to magically use it huh? Because I swore that you _and_ Raven once said that all three of you were taught by Papa Branwen" Tai had plenty of experience of deflecting Qrow's numeral quips and wind-ups, and he swore that he was being a bad influence on Yang.

But still, to bring up Raven like that. Dick

"Alright, alright" The curved blade retracted into its slightly less deadly form and he continued to sharpen it with obviously too much force "So maybe I learnt how to use this thing alongside Kaylah, but what of it?"

Floorboards above their heads creaked, signalling that someone was walking around in the lounge room

"I'm just saying since Kaylah was teaching Jaune, and you were taught by the same mentor…"

Qrow stopped sharpening before grinding the stone against the blade with enough force to cause sparks, which oh so conveniently singed Tai's forearm "Whoops, my bad"

Tai shot him a look that could've shut up a whole classroom of noisy children. "Don't abuse your semblance man" even though the sparks quickly dissipated, he still rubbed his arm, as if they left behind any residual burning effect… oh wait "But still, you can't say you haven't considered it at least"

"I have, just then actually"

"Annd?"

"I think it's a dumb idea, and whoever made that idea up is dumb" collapsing the blade he got up from his seat and headed for the stairs. He needed a drink, even if it was going on past midnight. "Besides. Me, a teacher? No thanks"

"What about you?"

He stopped with his hand hovering above the door handle. "What about me?"

"You sure you'll be fine without Kaylah?"

"…"

"…"

He grasped the door handle and opened it, already picking out what the ingredients from his collection of drinks he would need to make his signature drink. Not before he said a single word as he left Tai down there  
"Nope"

 **A/N I'm not exactly proud of this chapter, especially the breakfast part of it. I wanted to show that Jaune is still a functioning human being, but is still dealing with… you know, the fact that his family is dead. Chapter four is most likely going to be a time skip or something. Also, suggestions. I would love it if people gave me ideas, even though I do have a plan for this, it is extremely basic. Like I know who the murderer is, how the peeps are going to react etc. But in between all that? Nope. And I want to clarify this early on, I will not be having an abundance of OC's. While this is an AU, that doesn't mean that I have to make a whole new hunter academy. I think I'll have a maximum of seven OC's (Don't quote me on that) and right now, there are three. Joan, Kaylah and papa Branwen. Summer doesn't count as she is described in the actual wanime as a super mom. Anyway, I think I've thought about family deaths enough for one night so I shall bid thee goodbye**

 **-Afro Starfish**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Malum Amare**

 **A/N Okay, back with another chapter of Arc's hunt. Again, feedback is greatly appreciated. Also, thank you someone who shall not be named, for already figuring out stuff that was merely being hinted at. Always nice when someone does that. On with the fic**

"Wake up drool boy"

He groaned as he got up, already concocting various ways to stop her from waking him up. No one liked to be woken up by a horrendous nickname. Drooling was a much more common problem than she thought. "I'm up, I'm up. Jeez" He grumbled as he was getting changed on his side of the room. It didn't take a genius to say he questioned Tai's logic when it came to his sleeping arrangements. He remembered the conversation they were having and his answer when he asked why, without pausing he simply said _"because you're both blondes_ ".

Really?

He knew it was a blatant lie, but could he blame his da-caregiver. He winced at that last thought. It had been four months since he had seen his father, he hadn't even gone to the funeral. No one blamed him though, and if anyone did, well…

Fuck em.

He had fallen into a semi-comfortable routine. Wake up, get breakfast, mess around for a few hours, have lunch, draw for a while, maybe some video games with Ruby and then dinner. All in all it wasn't a bad life until a flyer for Signal academy showed up in front of his cereal bowl.

"What's this?" he asked expectantly

Qrow pointed at the blonde "This, is how you'll be able to beat the shit out of people" He paused, examining the boy in front of him for any response. Not before jumping from the feminine voice a few metres behind him "language" he quickly recovered and continued "This, right here, is your ticket to be a huntsmen."

"Already said I don't-"

"-want to be a Huntsmen, yea I get it. Point is, that you'll be able to fight. And that can't be bad can it?"

Jaune sighed, he didn't want to go to combat school because it taught that when dealing with people, not to kill them but to _subdue_ them. Jaune was quite clear that he didn't want to subdue the killer. However, he could see the drunks point. There was a good reason why random strangers wouldn't try and fight a huntsmen. They would most likely get annihilated, and he loved that thought. But he wasn't going to let that show

"But I'll be taught how to fight Grimm, not people" a brief pause to let the young blonde chew his somewhat foul tasting cereal "How'll that help me?"

"…"

"…"

Qrow chuckled slightly into his fist, trying to stifle his own mirth. Ultimately, his efforts were proven worthless as his slight chuckle/giggle evolved into full blown laughter.  
"You think that humans are harder to kill than Grimm?" he continued his laughter, although it no longer became the joyful kind. It was the sarcastic, devastating to morale kind of laughter. "If that were true, then we wouldn't be hiding behind big ass walls now would we?"

"…"

"Exactly, so learning how to beat the shit-"

"Language" Summer once again said from the kitchen, before mumbling something about soap in mouths

"-out of Grimm is essentially learning how to _really_ beat up people. Besides…" he took out his flask of probably pure alcohol and took a few deep gulps. "You want to get stronger don't you?" flashing his smug grin. Qrow knew that all Jaune wanted to do was to get stronger, even before the incident. Before it was so that he could stand side-by-side with his family, now? It was so he could avenge them. Getting stronger was no longer a luxury for Jaune.

It was a necessity

The blonde in the room sighed. Although he trained with his older sister, he just couldn't wield _Crocea Mors_. His sister said that every Arc would eventually use it if they became a huntsmen, but the longsword and shield just…never clicked with him. The only weapon that he felt he was decent with wasn't even a weapon, instead just a practise sword that was a gift from said sister. "What if I can't get in? Then what? Not like anyone can teach me now that…you know" he trailed off. Even though Kaylah's and Joan's bodies were never found, it didn't mean that they were alive either. If they were, then wouldn't they go for some form of civilization?

"…?" he realised that Qrow had asked him a question, but he had spaced out again. It was becoming a regular occurrence now.

"Mhmm?"

"I said, you sure you don't want to use Crocea Mors? Seems fitting that you use it."

Jaune knew exactly why he didn't want to use Crocea Mors. The last time he saw it was on the mantle above the fireplace, but for him to get it he would have to go back to his old house.

And he wouldn't ever go back there.

"Nope" Jaune smiled at the drunk, knowing that _nope_ was his signature response.

Qrow grinned and punched him in the arm. "Smart ass. But seriously, I can guarantee you that if you go to signal, then you'll be getting stronger. They'll teach you how to use that sword, get you to develop your own style of fighting and you'll get to dick around with dust" For a hunter, Qrow did know how to haggle. But Jaune didn't want to fight Grimm, he had already told him all of this before.

"You also train against people"

Jaune's eyebrow rose, now he had his full attention. "Why don't they train against Grimm? Isn't that what they're training for anyway?" he put his spoon into his bowl of cereal to find that there was only milk left.

"Not only is it too hard to capture Grimm, but it's also too dangerous. Can you imagine what kind of shit-show the schools would get into if some overprotective parent heard that their kid was already fighting Grimm?" The question was of the rhetoric kind and would have been complete with Qrows signature grin. He was right of course, training against Grimm constantly would prove to better prepare the students, but if they would get injured early on in their career then that would put a stop on any potential kills on the field. Overall, the second option was better overall.

"So… you're saying that if I, hypothetically, maybe, sorta went to signal…then I would learn to fight people too?" he said all of that with a questionable tone, but halfway through it got higher in pitch in excitement. He knew of course that if he was dealing with the murderer of his family, they were going to be no push over

"Only that there are some problems if you want to hypothetically, maybe, sorta, wanna go to Signal. And I bet it's something you can't bullshit your way through"

Qrow knew Jaune was already going to say yes, and that was infinitely better than him saying no. But if he said yes, then he would need to know some things

"Yea?"

A brief cough "At Signal, they prepare you for hunter academies by doing stuff the way they would in the academies, such as working in teams. A lot. If people ask you what your name is, don't. and I mean this, don't say Arc" he paused, whether for dramatic effect or for Jaune to process this, it still wouldn't have worked as a loud thump could be heard directly above their head, where Ruby's room was. What said thump did, was block out that last part

"What?"

"I'm saying kid, that you can't go around saying you're an Arc" Jaune's eyebrows furrowed, it would've been the source of more teasing from Qrow if it weren't such a serious matter. But quite frankly, Jaune didn't give a damn.

"You want me, to not use my dead families' name!?" Jaune roared, yea… Qrow struck a nerve. Even though the young blonde was practically yelling at the top of his voice, Qrow kept a calm composure and deadpanned "If you use that name, the person that killed your family is going to find you. And guess what they'll do?"

"THEY WOULD BE DEAD!"

"No, you would be surrounded by your family. Six feet under, but still near" Qrow said in a monotone voice, giving off the impression that he was perfectly calm. But if anyone knew Qrow, it was a sign that he was about to blow his stack.

"How do you know that would happen? Not like you actually know how strong the murderer is!"

"First off. Keep your voice down. Do you want Yang and Ruby finding out why you're here?" Jaune's silence was good enough of an answer for Qrow "Exactly. Second. They would have to be pretty strong in order to kill you parents and sisters. Thirdly, what would make you strong enough to kill them? Huh?" Jaune looked defeated as he looked into his half full bowl of milk.

The blonde muttered something under his breath.

"What?"

"I said, how do I get strong enough?" he looked up at Qrow, his usual deep blue eyes were glazed and the tear streaks down his face meant that his milk would've been a little salty.

Qrow gave a half-arsed grin. Not quite his signature one, but more sincere "Go to Signal kid"

"You're saying that he's going to Signal?"

Tai and Qrow were back in the basement. I.e. their own personal bar/ man-cave. It was first made as 'foundations' Tai had said, and you would think so too. But the 'solid' massive block of concrete that underlay the whole house was in fact, hollow. It was thick enough to actually function as a foundation, but Qrow thought why waste perfectly good space. After two years of covertly installing electricity, running water and a way to breath. They had created their own home away from home. Even if it was only a few metres underneath home. After dinner each night, the two would say that they were going hunting. And after a good hour of hunting, they would head back and escape into their humble abode. The place only had one rule, never let any family in.

"Yea, gave him a flyer, talked to him about it, that sorta thing. He seems real keen to go now" He drank out of his glass, which now held his own drink that he had created.

Tai only looked at the raven-haired man with amazement. "And how exactly, did you do that? I talked with him and he didn't exactly seemed pleased at the idea" It was the second week he was staying over, Jaune was downstairs watching the news on the T.V when Tai came and sat next to him. The end result was an older blonde wondering what he said, and a young blonde storming up the stairs. Safe to say that it wasn't exactly a good way to end the day.

Qrow smile disappeared for a second as he drank his drink. "I may have guilt tripped him into going in a way"

"…"

"…"

"How the shit can you guilt trip him into going to Signal? How is that even possible?" Tai's eyes were glazed and there was a slur in his words. Maybe he wouldn't remember this night, but Qrow would still tell him. But not in the morning when he was experiencing his hangover.

"I just said some stuff that I shouldn't have said" Qrow looked at his now empty glass

"He needs a mentor you know?"

Qrow sighed "Why don't you do it then? You're a Huntsmen too you know? And you're a Teacher at Signal already. You're more qualified than me"

"Yea, but do I use a sword? No… Can I teach him how to use a sword? No. You though… y-you tick _all_ the boxes. Also…" he paused, before drinking the rest of his own drink "He kinda like you more than me..." he said that with a hint of sadness in his voice "and you said that you always wanted a kid of your own right? I'm not saying that this is perfect for you but…"

Qrow slammed his glass down on the counter "No, stop right there. This is Jaune Arc we are talking about, not some fucked up kid that would've been mine. He was Noah and Juniper's son, not mine. Jesus Tai, he saw his parent's corpses. He won't look at anyone that way without thinking about his dad" He got up and headed for the stairs. It was getting late, he would need to get some sleep for the next day

"At least do it for her?"

On the second stair Qrow stopped dead in his tracks, adopting a calm voice he replied "Do what for who?"

Tai looked like he sobered up at least a little bit, but that didn't mean he didn't stagger a bit after he left his seat "Train Jaune for Kaylah" he stopped, talking to Qrow's back "She didn't want him to be unprepared for Signal man, you know that. I can't teach him… But you can" Qrow clenched his fists tighter, making his knuckles white.

"At least teach him how to swing it properly" Tai said as he passed Qrow up the stairs. On the last step he looked at his teammate and uncle to his daughter, but he didn't look up at Tai. Just silently contemplating as he stared into oblivion. He didn't move when Tai headed though the door, but when he did Qrow finally snapped out of his daze. He headed back into the man-cave and went to his workbench. He opened one of the many lockers there and retrieved a sword and shield, after sharpening it a bit, a few modifications later and he looked at his old weapon with a smile. If he was going to mentor Jaune, then it seems fitting that he should use one of his old swords. He looked at the message etched on the handle with a certain fondness, remembering the day he received the gift. He wrapped it with a cloth and looked at his handiwork. It definitely wasn't _Crocea mors_ , but it was his _Malum amare._

" _I'm home" Jaune said as he took off his coat, he was back from another day at Signal. He was the top of his class, with his twin sister Jane a close second. His home was full of cheerful laughter as his three younger sisters, Charlotte, Hannah and Jessica quickly came into view. All three of them tackled their older brother by the waist, he would've fallen if it wasn't for a quick hand quickly grabbing his hand._

" _You got to be quicker than that drool boy" His older sister Georgia said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She had dark blue eyes like Jaune, but her hair was somehow wilder and had brown hair like his mothers. Even though he was younger, she was just up to his nose. Even though she had helped him, he quickly felt him crashing back into the earth as her hand let go._

" _Nice to see you guys too" he chuckled as he quickly brushed himself off. "I managed to get an A on my Grimm studies test today. So that's good" He stiffened a little bit when he saw his mother closing in. She looked young despite being old enough that Jaune could've been her grandchild. She had brown eyes and equally brown hair to match. Even though she had eight children, she looked so full of joy twenty-four seven. Behind her was Emma Arc. Resident brain-box and weapons freak she constantly wore a pair of welding goggles and somehow managed to find some amount of oil to stain her clothes. She had brownish blue eyes which were both analytical and bursting with energy._

 _They had all come to see Jaune after his big exam at Signal, which would've sounded strange to some other families, but the Arcs always were strange. Especially with those scars across their necks…_

 _Jaune looked around to his younger sisters which were still hanging onto his waist, but there was no pressure. Their eyes had lost all life in them and started to turn silver. As he turned his head to look at his other family members the scenery changed. He was now in the local cemetery where his dad would occasionally visit, where was his dad? The blonde looked around, trying to find a taller, older blonde. He quickly saw his dad. Who was A) right behind him and B) had the same scar across his throat. He grabbed his son's hand and he slowly started sinking into the ground. At the same rate as the man was sinking, something was rising behind his head. It looked to be made of some kind of stone. Jaune tried to scream, tried to break free from the man's grasp. But it all proved to be futile as another pair of hands covered his mouth, the hands were ice cold with black veins visible beneath the grey skin. More hands grabbed onto his arms, his legs became imbedded into the grass. He managed to get his sisters hand of his mouth as he screamed "NO!" Twisting his head, he saw the faces of his family but not his sisters as they dragged him into his new home. His last thought were foreign, but somehow familiar._

' _You would be surrounded by your family. Six feet under, but still near'_

 _How strange, that his last thought was accompanied with a soothing voice. And a smack to the face_

"NO!"

Yang's eyes widened as she heard Jaune scream. It wasn't a girly one like she would imagine, but one with desperation, anger, fear and overall hatred echoing in his voice. Whatever kind of nightmare he was going through it was certainly something that he was terrified of. She had been watching him wrestle with his bedsheets for a while now, and she could say with the upmost certainty that he was definitely experiencing a nightmare. It had gone downhill when a small smile appeared on his lips, which was quickly replaced by rapid breathing, sweating and an overall bad look on his face.

Yang leapt of her bunk and tried to wake Jaune up the usual way, "Wakey wakey drool boy. C'mon…" he didn't react in the slightest to her voice. So she went to Plan B. She grabbed Jaunes shoulders and gently, but forcefully started to shake him. Again, no response. 'O _kay, now to plan Z'_

A loud crack echoed throughout the room that the two blondes shared, just as Qrow and Summer opened the door. "What's going on" said Summer, who still had sleep in her eyes.

"Jaune's having a nightmare" Yang said with an unusual hint of concern in her voice. Qrow quickly sat down next to Yang as soon as the restless blonde started to wake up. "Okay… okay, he'll be right" Qrow said, instantly relaxing.

Jaune bolted upright, panting and sweating all over. Only to go back down as he slammed his head into the bunk above him. "Aw, fu-"he was interrupted as Qrow quickly put his hand over Jaune's mouth. He whispered "don't swear" Before Jaune started to scream into his hand and ripped it away from his mouth. "DON'T DO THAT!" He pushed his body against the wall, eyes darting between everyone in the room. He was still catching his breath, panting as he watched the people in the room carefully. As soon as his breathing slowed Summer walked up to him, crouched to his eye level before hugging him. Jaune looked baffled for a second before accepting the woman's embrace.

Qrow leaned over and quietly whispered to Yang "We should leave" before making his way for the door. Yang just stood there for a moment before Qrow's head reappeared, "Hurry up" before he disappeared again. Sometimes her uncle was beyond her understanding. When she saw him in the kitchen he gestured to the seat, As Yang sat down she tried to see what her Uncle was making but his body was blocking whatever he was making.

"You did a good thing you know?" Qrow said over his shoulder

How? All she did was wake up Jaune when he was having a nightmare, who even gets those at 10 anymore?

"What did I do?"

Qrow grunted "I shouldn't be telling you this right now, it's really up to him if you should know or not… But I'll just say that he isn't in the right mindset right now" He kept talking over his shoulder, even when something was making an obscene amount of noise. "He experienced something that no one should, and I'm surprised that he hasn't had nightmares before today" He turned around to show off what he was making. Her eyes widened, only a little bit, but the drunk laughed at her when he saw. It was her favourite drink, a strawberry milkshake with ' _his secret ingredient_ ' Even though it was her absolute favourite, both her dad and Summer didn't want her to have the drink. Why? They always said when she was older she could have it. But right now they were both upstairs with Jaune sooo…

She grabbed the drink and started drinking it without hesitation, making Qrow chuckle again

"Should've never let you have that drink. Anyway, if he does something like that again you either wake him up or get your dad or summer. Just not me or Ruby, Kay?" yang nodded, only half listening "Good… has it happened before?" She rose an eyebrow in curiosity, the straw still in her mouth

"Nope, this sort of thing happens like…" Qrow gave a concerned look, which made Yang immediately regret her choice of words. He had asked her to keep it quiet and now she just told Qrow. _'Wait, I can still save this… just play it cool. Yea'_ "Wait, I think this is the first time. Yep. First time"

' _Nailed it'_

It was now Qrow's turn to raise his eyebrow "Yeeeaaa… no. How many times has this happened Yang?" his tone was serious now, not monotone. But you could tell he was being serious. With a sigh Yang confessed

"The first time was the first night. He was crying and I woke him up and we just kinda talked about stuff… he asked me not to tell anyone about this." Lilac eyes meet red ones "please don't tell him I told you, please" Qrow gave a genuine smile

"Since when did you give a dam about him? Last time we talked about him you weren't exactly being nice" he winced as he remembered her bluntness on the dinner table the first night. She wasn't exactly known for her subtlety.

She looked away for a second, with the smallest hint of a blush in her cheeks

"He asked me to keep it a secret, made me promise and I said yea. He always goes on about how his family always taught him that he isn't supposed to go back on his word"

"Those words exactly?" Qrow said, fearing that he already told Yang his actual name.

She shook her head "Nah, just said 'I never go back on my word'" She laughed a little bit after imitating his voice. Qrow just smiled and looked at Tai, who was standing in the staircase. He gave the thumbs up and yawned.

"Alright kiddo, hurry up with that drink and go to bed" he said over his shoulder as he went to the guest room, which was downstairs. "Oh, almost forgot. You dad will be giving you lessons about fighting and that tomorrow I think. So, yea. Just get some rest"

As he closed his bedroom door, Yang finished her drink and headed upstairs. Not before seeing a photo that caught her eye. On the table there were a stack of photos. Most of them were pictures of her dad, Summer, Yang and Ruby. Qrow would make a regular appearance, but every second time he was in a photo he was always close to someone else. Yang's eyes widened, she took out her scroll that she got for her birthday and snapped a photo of her. As she headed for her room she looked at the picture again. Qrow was smiling, with his hands around the waist of a wolf Faunus. She had golden eyes, a smile and her hair was crazier than she thought was possible. Her black hair was long and reached her waist, the only thing interrupting it were the pair of ears that protruded at the top of her head. Her clothes were a little out there as well, as she wore a big black trench coat that opened to reveal a yellow shirt with two arcs in the middle. The picture was somewhat heart-warming and she was sure Qrow would know who this was if she asked. The only thing that stood out was a thick metal… rod? She didn't know what it was, but it looked bulky and heavy.

She didn't notice she stopped in front of the doorway she shared with Jaune. As she opened the door she could hear the rustling of bed sheets and a light was quickly turned out.

"Uh, hey Yang"

She smiled "Hey Jaune, you wanna talk about it?"

He sat upright and looked at her "You actually care?"

She rolled her eyes "of course I care, just because I tease you a lot doesn't mean I care. So" She sat on the same bed as Jaune "What's up?"

"…"

"…"

Jaune sighed, "You got a nice family, you know that right?"

"Course, not everything is perfect but, wait… yea it is" She smiled at him, but he deadpanned. Until a grin appeared on his face "Yea, it is"

"…"

"…"

Yang started to think that it was getting late and decided that that was about as much as she would get out of him that night. Just before she climbed onto her own bed he said

"What'd you do if you lost Ruby?"

"Ruby?"

"Yea, or Summer, Tai and even Qrow. What would you do if they just up and left?"

She stared up at the ceiling and contemplated. What would she do if she lost Ruby? She would probably grab he closest person and run to go find her. "I would try to find her. Why?"

"…"

She looked at the bunk beneath her to see if he was still awake. He was, and the two were just staring at each other.

"Nothing, thanks though" Jaune muttered, before turning over and falling asleep. Yang just stared at him for a while before doing the same.

Yang didn't know what exactly Jaune lost, but it had to do with his old family. Maybe he was an orphan? Maybe he was a long lost relative of theirs? That would explain the blonde hair, but just because he had blonde hair didn't mean that he was her cousin. Maybe she would ask her dad about it, oh wait. ' _Not my place to tell you. It's his_ ' damn parents being considerate of others. Maybe she would talk to Qrow. Wait, never mind. Oh, what if she were too….

And it would continue for the rest of the night. Yang would create a list inside her head about how to get Jaune to tell her his secret, or the reason why he was staying in _her_ room. For crying out loud, this was hers! But she would find out, eventually.

The next morning

"Get your fat asses moving pronto!" Qrow bellowed from the bottom of the staircase. For that remark he got a swift punch to the arm delivered by Tai.

"Dude, you're already rubbing off Yang, you want Ruby to start swearing like a sailor?" Tai gave him a stern look, but Qrow had gotten used to that look a few years ago. "If she swears, we'll blame it on Jaune" Qrow said as he took a swig of his mystery juice.

"What do you mean blame it on Jau-"

"I'M AWAKE!" Jaune exclaimed at the top of the staircase. While he said that he was awake, he was struggling to stay awake. Most likely because he never really did fall back asleep, as he was afraid to go through yet another nightmare. But as soon as he made the first step downstairs, Yang opened the door and yelled out "Wait for me!" This promptly scared Jaune and he tripped over his left foot, causing him to fall down every other step on the way down. The two other blondes were concerned and helped Jaune back up, whereas Qrow just laughed as he saw the still awaking boy stumble and gain multiple concussions on the way down.

After recovering, punching Qrow in the snout and a brief laugh about it. The four of them set out into the forest surrounding the spacious cabin, with one experienced hunter, one drunk, one concussion riddled boy and an excited blonde they set out, looking for Grimm.

Tai had quickly found a horde of beowolves and told the three of them (Qrow somehow managed to get drunk before they reached the mailbox) to watch and learn.

"Question?" Jaune raised his hand, even though they weren't in a classroom and he was behind Tai. Still didn't stop him from answering though. "Yes Jaune?"

"How are we supposed to kill Grimm without any weapons? I don't have Crocea Mors and I dunno what Yang has, but we can't be expected to kill a Grimm" Tai turned to hi and gave him a sincere smile "Don't worry, we don't expect you to kill a Grimm"

From behind Jaune and Yang, Qrow pointed out "we don't expect you to kill _a_ Grimm. What we're gonna do is leave you here for a day, then pick you up tomorrow. Sound good?"

In perfect unison the two young blondes yelled "What!?"

Qrow looked scared for a second and pointed in front of him where Tai was a second ago "What's that?!" The two twisted their heads to see a young beowolve leap from a bush.

"What do we do?!" Yang heard Jaune cry out. Only to hear a response rapidly decrease in volume

"Figure that out yourselves"

 **A/N Okay that was Chapter 3 in Arc's hunt. I am definitely doing some major time skips later on. Most likely the six or seven years he spends in Signal, but when he eventually makes it I'll skip ahead to his last few months there or something. I think I'll include an omake for each chapter after that point about his time at the combat school. Anyway, if anyone wants to say anything about the fic, please do. I would also like to say that the chapters will most likely be this long, but not be uploaded as often. Right now since it is the holidays I can upload this much without burning myself out within each week. But next week onward I most likely won't be able to, coz of school, work and overall life n shit.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 Actions and Consequences**

* * *

"Figure that out yourselves" Qrow bellowed as he put as much distance between himself and the two blondes. Just as a Beowolve leapt from the bushes. To Qrow, Tai and Summer this would have seemed like an easy fix, but this is the first time either Yang or Jaune face off against a Grimm. So it's safe to say that neither of them knew what to do

"RUN!" Yang shouted, the pair headed off towards where they last saw Qrow. Only to see him in a clearing with Reaper, just as he fired a shot above his head, causing all the Grimm in the area to look in their direction. He smiled and quickly left them behind.

"This way!" Jaune quickly grabbed Yang's arm and almost dragged her across the field into the trees, together they ran into what could possibly be the worst day of their life.

* * *

Qrow gave the kids a smug smile before darting towards where Tai was hiding from the two. He was wearing a smile too, one that was slightly nervous. He was probably thinking that it was a bit much for 10 year olds, to that Qrow laughed. His father had put three kids in the middle of the Vacuan desert, pointed in a general direction and said that that was salvation. Compared to that, this was a walk in the park. Still didn't stop Tai from fretting over every little detail. The day before, the two had been up for oum knows how long, and at the end of it Tai decided he would fall asleep _just_ as Jaune wakes everyone else up. "What you thinking about?" He asked the blonde, who was getting up to chase the kids. He didn't get an answer from said blonde as he decided that he couldn't run and talk at the time. It wasn't until they kids had come across a certain barn did Tai stop, he gave Qrow a concerned look. At first he didn't exactly know what Tai was worried about, until he realised why the barn looked familiar. "Oh shit…" was all the drunk could say.

Tai and Raven got married here…

"Yea, shit" Tai deadpanned, emotion devoid from his voice. Maybe training them so close to the barn wasn't such a good idea after all.

Qrow coughed a little louder than necessary. "They won't head inside, if they do then… Shit, I dunno. Sorry man" He looked at his brother-in-law, his eyes brimmed with tears threatening to fall. "I'll be fine, just don't want the kids to see anything." Qrow looked at his smile, he obviously had something on his mind. But of what exactly Qrow could only guess. Probably when he was drunk.

As soon as the two had opened the barn door did Tai's smile disappeared "You remember the day right? When Yang got Ruby in a wagon?" How could he not remember? Yang took Ruby and just walked for what seemed like hours, they almost died too. If it weren't for Summer being her usual overprotective self, then they most likely would have. But that was years ago, why was Tai bringing it up now?

"This is where she found them" his lips locked into a line. He wasn't exactly happy at his eldest daughter for doing something like that, but she was apparently justified for some reason. _'Probably has to do with Raven'_ Qrow thought. "Hey Tai, you told Yang right? About her mother?" If he hasn't yet, then the man was a legend at keeping secrets. Many people thought that Ruby was his own daughter, to that he would laugh and point to his friend, eyebrows would raise in response but they never.

"Course I did, that's why she came out here. She went looking for her here" Qrow grunted, looking back at the kids Yang's eyes turned from their usual lilac and turned red. He sighed internally. ' _That girls temper, she's going to get someone killed with it…_ ' he winced as he remembered where they were.

* * *

An uncomfortable silence. That was what Jaune was experiencing with yang at the moment. After they had ran for their lives, a few minutes of pure panting, followed by a _lot_ of walking, an uncomfortable silence wasn't really what Jaune had wanted to happen on the first day of his so called training. Then again, he hadn't anticipated actually killing a Grimm either, but both Tai and Qrow seemed to enjoy that idea.

But when they had reached the barn, the silence managed to extend past their non-existent conversation and into their surroundings. At least before, there were crickets, running water, maybe even the leaves blowing. But now that they reached the barn, silence. Not even the occasional howl of either wolves or their demonic counterpart, just complete and utter silence. The lack of noise was making him panic, the last time it was this quiet was when he found the bodies. But even then after a while it was broken by the Summer. Right now though? He doubted Summer would come and rescue him. He looked at Yang who was just staring at him. He let himself relax, the young boy didn't realise that he was being so tense and that his breathing had quickened. She gave him a once over before nodding and started heading inside.

The barn doors creaked loudly, signalling that it had been awhile. While yang headed inside without a second glance he couldn't help but think about their current situation. Two kids that, while having some level of training, have never faced off against Grimm, heading into what could possibly be their deaths.

If you were to ask them about their time in the forest, they would simply smile and say "Good times" At the moment… not so much.

The one known as Yang closed the barn doors before opening some of the windows, and with a new light source Jaune finally checked out his surroundings. And he had to say that despite the awful exterior, the inside looked to be in relatively good condition. It even looked like it had been dusted once or twice. And were those baby cupids?

Weird…

"What exactly is this place?" Jaune asked Yang, who just responded by turning around, without her grin she got from her uncle and just said "I'll tell you" before turning away

"…"

"…"

"You can't just say that and not…" Realisation dawned on his face, before a cheeky smile found its way on his face. He had said the exact same thing to her on the first night, but never got around to it. He didn't necessarily plan too, not unless he was placed in a situation where no one would remember, either from them dying or him dying. He didn't fret over the details. But if Yang thought that this was going to make him open up then she had another thing coming.

He just sat down on the wooden floor and huffed "Okay then" He started to study the patterns on the floor, but not before he saw Yang look at him.

* * *

"They've been in there for a good while Tai, you reckon this is getting too easy for them?" he saw the blonde study the horizon, if he could see that is. They were still in the same spot where they had their last conversation. It had been a few hours since they had sought refuge in the barn, and Qrow had expected a Grimm to show up and scare the kids. So far, no such luck. Tai of course didn't want anything to actually happen the building so whenever he saw what appeared to be a beowolve, or a boarbatusk or anything really, he would immediately rush over and take care of it. Sometimes he would come back with yet another kill on his belt, other times he would return with nothing but a miniscule amount of stamina gone.

"Not really, this isn't a training session. It's more like…orientation. We don't actually want them to face off against any Grimm, but for them to understand the consequences" he replied after a brief pause. To that Qrow had scoffed, all this time sitting around and now that damn blonde decides to tell him it wasn't even a real lesson. It was probably that damn teacher mentality that had him suddenly change what they had planned to do? "Don't you think that it would've been easier to just show them a Grimm that we could've caught yesterday?"

"Nah, not the real thing. We got to show them that even the runt of the litter is a serious threat to them."

"You just trying to scare Jaune away from the whole thing?" Qrow asked whilst raising an eyebrow. Tai had been against the idea of all three children aspiring to be huntsmen, but he didn't think he would actually try to stop any of them. He had anticipated him to encourage the kids, not the polar opposite.

"Especially Jaune. You know what he wants to do ay?" Tai said, his voice rising slightly as he asked the question. For the sake of argument the dark-haired man shook his head "Kid still wants to kill the murderer" This caused concern for Qrow, more than he would like to admit. He didn't want the kid to go down the road of a huntsmen, only to go rouge. His train of thought was interrupted by Tai "Wait, that's not the best part. He said, and I quote. 'I swear that before I kill them, I'm going to find their family, gut them and use their entrails as a noose and hang them with his family's guts.' I almost feel sorry for the poor bastard that did that to him" Tai said, almost like it was a joke to him. But with subjects that involved family you couldn't find anyone else any more serious than he.

"Almost?"

"Of course, I'm not going to side with whoever killed Jaune's whole damn family. But if the kid is anything like his parents, then I seriously pity the family." Qrow nodded in agreement, Jaune's father had always been one to keep his word. For better or for worse, no one actually knew, but the few times he had met the man he would say "An Arc never breaks his word" Even though it came out as a murmur, Tai managed to make sense of it.

"Noah never broke his promise, and the one time he did…" Tai trailed off, both knowing what it was. And the consequences of breaking the promise. "You reckon he'll go down that path?" Tai looked at Qrow with pleading eyes, with a sigh Qrow responded "He won't"

"But what if he does?"

"He won't" Qrow said, in a monotone voice. Tai stopped immediately. A complete silence fell upon the two before Tai spoke up again. "You reckon that they've had enough?"

Qrow pondered for a bit "Give it another hour, then we'll pack it in"

* * *

Yang didn't like sharing this place with Jaune. If he knew how much significance this barn held to her, then maybe he could be a little more respectful. Instead he just thought that it was just a musty old barn. He kicked chairs over, looked in the pedestal and in general was being an ass. ' _Just like you thought he would be'_ She thought. If she was going to spend a whole day in here with him, then she was going to lose her shit.

"You alright there?" Jaune asked, concern and what could possibly be fear in his eyes. He had been trying to strike up a conversation ever since they had stopped running that morning. After a while it had gotten old pretty fast. "Yea, I'm fine" she replied coldy

"You sure, because your eyes are red" Jaune replied factually. Her eyes widened and she looked into her scroll to see her eyes shift from red to lilac with a blink of an eye. _What was that about?_ Her train of thought was interrupted by a large bang on the front door. Both blondes heads snapped towards the noise. Jaune instinctively reached the nearest thing that resembled a sword, a degraded crowbar. He swung it experimentally, it looked a bit heavy for his hands, but it would serve its purpose in case he would need it. That or it would immediately crumble and he would get tetanus.

The door banged again, she jumped back in surprise. Looking desperately for something to fight with she looked around, pushing stuff out of the way. The irony wasn't lost on her as she threw a chair on its side. The door caved inwards slightly as whatever was banging against it charged again. She knew that the only thing separating them apart wasn't going to hold much longer, she looked behind her to find that her first line of defence, Jaune, had disappeared. "That ass!" As she said that the door finally opened to reveal…

* * *

Tai and Qrow were arguing whether or not they should call it off back in the tree. Qrow said that if he wanted the kids to be proper huntsmen, then they would need to face the music. The sooner the better. Tai, on the other hand, proposed that just because he had done this sort of thing as _training_ doesn't mean that it was right for everyone. Qrow's response was to simply say look at how he turned out, Tai just gave him a look that said _really?_ They were about to go at each other again until the two heard a large bang coming from the barn. Their heads slowly turned to the noise and both pairs of eyes widened in sync. Outside the door was an Ursa, rearing up again to charge at the door. Tai was the first one to react, by saying before leaping off the tree "Told you!" he ran towards the beast, just as Qrow caught up with him. He looked at Qrow for a second, determination etched on his face. He was about to say something just as the Ursa busted the door down, a scream was heard by the two. The Grimm snarled just as it lumbered forward.

"Oh, fuck all kinds of duck!" Qrow yelled as he ran even faster than before, he drew reaper out of its collapsed form and quickly made it into the monstrous scythe. A last thought occurred to him before he made it to the barn _. Just my luck…_

* * *

Yang cried out to no one in particular as the Grimm barged in. She looked at it in horror, it towered over her. The black fur bristled against the remains of their only protection against it, the bone plating seemingly imbedded into its skin and those eyes… when she looked into them she could only remember what she had done all those years ago. Tears threatening to fall down her cheeks, the Ursa looked at her with a predatory gleam in its eye, or it could just be the red. But as it moved towards her it stopped and looked down in front of it. It raised its paw? She couldn't quite make out what it was yet. But as it brought it down she swore she heard "Aw poop" The floorboards didn't stand a chance against the beast, the paw dug into ground before pulling it back instinctively. As it did she saw why, deep inside the black paw was a rusty crowbar. Jaune's head poked out of the small crater and climbed out, now with an equally rusty blade and a gun he ran towards her. He chucked it to her, "Catch!" She caught it, but not before fumbling around with it before-hand. "There are only two bullets in it, so use it carefully" he ran at the Ursa as soon as it had managed to separate the impromptu sword from its flesh. He jumped up into the air just as the Ursa flicked it away, only to get backhanded by said Grimm. His back landed painfully against the wall and he slumped down against it, the sword still in his hand. His head shakily looked up just as the beast mouth opened to have its new meal. So this is how I die? Huh. His thoughts were interrupted by a deafening boom from the other side of the barn. Whatever it was, it made the Grimm stop and look over in the direction it came from.

Yang was standing by herself with a half-depleted gun by her waist, with an angry Grimm on her hands. She fired the gun again, the gun practically flying out of her hands. The shot landed near its eyes, forcing it to look away for a second only for it to lock its gaze upon her. Her eyes widened as the Grimm lumbered towards the blonde. It reared its paw back, revealing several claws that would've split her in half. Would've being the keyword here.

With a crash, something busted through the wall above her. A flash of silver before the Grimm stopped dead in its tracks (He, pun) after a while, it started to split down the middle. It almost fell on top of her too, if it weren't for another blonde carrying her. Her dad looked at her with a grin and gently put her down. He looked back to where Qrow was, who knelt in front of the boy. "Oh no…" Tai trailed of, before running towards him. Qrow quickly picked him up bridal style and nodding to Tai. The two sharing a silent conversation, before Tai looked back at Yang and flashing her a smile "You ready to head home?" She nodded "Want a piggyback ride?" She smiled lightly, nodding again. Tai was smiling back at his daughter before scooping her up.

As the three of them of them headed down the road, the silence had returned. Only this time it wasn't completely silent, they had Jaune's heavy breathing to thank for that. As their home came into view Qrow said something that was on their minds. "Summer doesn't learn a thing, understood?" Yang nodded in response, she looked at the blonde in her uncles arms and she thought for a moment she saw his head move in the same direction.

* * *

"... _just because that kind of training worked for you Qrow, doesn't mean it's right for everyone now does it?!"_

 _A muttered response outside his door, not loud enough for Jaune to be able to hear._

" _I bloody hope you didn't want this to happen! If he is in that state for one more week, you're OUT!"_

 _Jaune woke up about five minutes ago, after panicking briefly he had taken in his surroundings and was glad to see how familiar they were. He was back in his room, except for a bag in a stand that was full of some kind of squishy liquid. After realising that the bag was connected to a needle in his arm he swiftly took it out, he really didn't like needles. But he had only started listening to the conversation, and he was intrigued. Mostly because it seemed that Summer was incredibly angry with Qrow for some reason, most likely because of his first day of training. He sighed, good times_

 _The door opened and he craned his head to see whom had it been opened by, only for them to squeal and quickly leave. His eyebrow rose in confusion and curiosity. Murmurs outside his door again before the door exploded open, and all of a sudden someone had pressed themselves against him. He tried to escape but behind him someone had decided to join in on the impromptu group hug. He had genuinely started to enjoy the hug, until he opened his eyes. In front of him was his older sister Emma, wearing her golden goggles over her eyes, but he could still see the grey in her eyes. Turning his head he saw his mother holding him in place. Heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway, the source being his father. Noah Arc held in his hands the ancestral blade, pointed directly at his son's throat. Just as he was about to protest, the blade went for his throat. Ending his life_

* * *

His eyes snapped open, he immediately tried to get up but only found himself bound to the bed. Leather straps held his arms in place, and a bag full of liquid was connected to his arm. He couldn't even pull it out this time.

"…just because that kind of training worked for you Qrow, doesn't mean it's right for everyone now does it?!"

Oh no, he was still dreaming. He struggled against the straps, just as someone came through the door. But only for a moment as they quickly turned around and shut the door.

After a while, various footsteps could be heard outside his door, before it was carefully opened. He still couldn't look at whoever did it, but still panicked as he saw silver eyes. "No no no no no NO NO NO!" he yelled as he saw Summer, he wrestled the straps holding him back.

"Hey, hey kid. It's okay" a gruff voiced proclaimed. More footsteps, he saw blonde hair, before more black hair came into view. "Just stay back for a sec guys" he saw his face and visibly relaxed. He would probably be teased about how he looked relieved to see Qrow, but it was the colour in the eyes that made him happy.

After seeing Jaune relax, the crimson eyed man had more confidence. "You alright there blondie?" he smiled as said blondie nodded. "Alright, I'm gonna take off these straps, alright?" Jaune nodded again, but he didn't quite get why he needed leather straps on him in the first place. it was quiet, except for the buckles being loosened by Qrow. He feverishly rubbed his wrists, the marks making it clear that he was struggling against them a second ago.

"There, all better now right?" he looked at Summer, who looked wounded. Jaune rose from his bed and only just noticed how sweaty he was, or how tense his shoulders were. The blonde looked at Summer, with fear in his eyes before whispering "Sorry" his gaze met the floor in shame.

Qrow looked at Summer, "Can you…maybe give us a minute, Please?" She nodded, before looking at Jaune and leaving. Qrow looked back at Jaune "What's been going on kid?"

"…"

Qrow sighed, "You've been unconscious for two days, its Tuesday right now, which gives you just about… 12 days until you start you proper training. But if you keep your feelings bottled up, you're just going to explode at someone, so tell me." He made Jaune look up from the floor "What is going in that head of yours?"

"…"

"…"

"I keep seeing them" Qrow's eyebrow quirked upwards "My family, I keep seeing them. At first its alright, like their fine and all. But then I see their eyes, their…silver eyes" Qrows own eyes widened, that's why he reacted the way he did. The eyes… "I just see them and everything goes wrong… I-I just can't" he stopped, before completely breaking down, he grabbed Qrow and cried into his shoulder.

* * *

"Is he alright?"

The soft voice scared Summer, making her jump. She turned around to see her daughter Ruby, in all her cute eight year old glory. Her silver eyes matched her mothers, and her innocence rivalled that of a puppy. She smiled at her daughter, "Yes honey, Jaune is… just tired from the other day is all. Now." She crouched down to Ruby's eye level "Why are you out of bed at this time of night young lady?" The little girls eyes widened before she turned on her heel and ran in the opposite direction, giggling all the way. Summer smiled as she saw her daughter run around the corner. As she walked through the hallway, she headed for the door that had red paint on the bottom half, but the regular brown wood was exposed on the top half. She stopped before the door and struggled to hear the voices on the other side.

"… said he was just tired"

"Okay rubes, go to sleep now. We'll see him in the morning." Said another voice. Just as Summer could hear more rustling she decided that she had spied on her kids enough. "You having fun there?" said a voice behind her, causing her smile to grow even bigger. She turned around to see her husband with a glass of warm milk in his hand, gesturing to her to have it. She didn't realise how thirsty she was until that moment, but relished the taste of it as it slid down her throat. "Thanks hun. Now." She smiled a smile, but not one of the cheerful kind. More like 'what are you doing two hours past curfew' smiles. "What happened that day?"

Tai visibly slumped, but rigidly got back up right as he heard sobs coming from down the hall. His chances out of the conversation drastically changed from 5% to -44%.  
"I wasn't actually there when it happened" he immediately cringed as he saw the look his wife gave him "But, I'm guessing that an Ursa attacked..." His voice trailed off when he realised he worded it in what was probably the worst possible way. Ever.

The smile now gone, she looked at her husband with those silver eyes. "Minor or Major?" her voice still calm, but still held the authority one would earn after becoming a mother. His only response was to chuckle nervously whilst scratching the back of his head.

"Oh my god Tai! You know what?!" she grabbed him by the ear and dragged him downstairs, much to his displeasure. She held onto his appendage until they were outside, she then somehow threw him across the clearing. "Me and you are sparring. Right now" She said before she seemingly disappeared. Before reappearing with a boot to the Tai's gut. Before the kick landed, she could hear a faint "Fuck me…"

(XlXlX)

In the window were two faces, both with genuine smiles. Jaune had recovered from his impromptu therapy lesson with an inexperienced therapist, and decided to watch his guardians beat each other up. Their grins grew bigger when Tai was thrown over Summer's shoulder. "You know kid, that is where you wanna be" Jaune looked at Qrow with an eyebrow raised

"Being thrown around by Aunt Summer?"

Qrow chuckled "Nah kid, I mean. Take a look at her, she's strong, smart and a damn good huntress. How do you think she got there?" Jaune was silent for a moment, prompting Qrow to keep going "She spent every waking moment training, studying and in general training. All those years, spent getting stronger has let her be able to do this" he stopped just as said huntress kicked Taiyang Xiao long, renowned huntsmen, in the face. He flipped, falling head over heels from his wife, literally. The grins on both faces grew

"You see that? You get what I'm trying to say kid?"

Jaune looked confused for a moment, his gaze never leaving the fight. He eventually turned to the crimson eyed man "In order to kick Tai in the face-"

"Nope, try again" Another pause "Never give up? That sounds really cliché, even from you"

"Yea, well…it's true, in a sense. If you never give up, but instead give it your all…well just watch your Aunt" She flipped over Tai, grabbed his shoulder and threw him into the woods. She brushed herself off before walking in the direction her husband flew. "I'm saying that if you truly want to get stronger, with every fibre in your body. Then you need to give it your all and don't hold anything back."

He paused, before standing up "I think it's safe to say that the entertainment has ended for tonight, you gonna head to bed?" Jaune was stunned for a moment, before he turned around. "You know what? After two days of sleeping, I don't think I can really head back to bed" Qrow pondered for a bit. If Summer found out that Qrow had let the blonde stay up after curfew, then he would be on the receiving end of her wrath

"Let's go, I wanna show you something" he passed through the door with Jaune following. He made it down the stairs, past the living room, into the outdoors and went to the outside wall of the guest room. He put his hand on the wall until something clicked, the ground beneath them silently opening, to reveal the staircase that he and Tai had been secretly using for the past 6 years. He looked at Jaune and his eyes sparkled with glee. "Welcome to our man-cave" he said, before walking down the stairs. Leading the young blonde past the workshop, the bar and into the large bare room.

"Stay here for a sec, just got to get something" he marched off, leaving the child in wonder. When he returned he was carrying a sword and a shield in each hand. He showed the child how to apply to hold onto the weapon, demonstrating ways to strike the enemy in decimating ways, but saw how the child was struggling to keep up. He promised to no one in particular to help the child, but as he did he realised that he accidentally became the kids mentor.

 _Just my luck…_

* * *

 **A/N Okay ladies and gents, that was Chapter 4. Let me know what you think, what areas I can improve in, what parts I suck copious amounts of shit in and what not. I already know action scenes are something that I should probably avoid, as I simply can't write it. Again, I will not be able to update as much anymore, but worry not! I will still pump out more Chapters, but not as frequently. I do think that during holidays, weekends and in general when I have free time I'll dedicate it to writing. Anyways, I've been Afro Starfish, you've been those guys and I will see you later**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Shopping for Signal**

* * *

The morning had brought its fair share of surprises, especially to the three adults. They had all agreed to get up early that morning, take their designated child and buy them the necessary stationary that Signal demanded from them. As they made themselves breakfast, Qrow was muttering something as he frustratingly began thumbing his scroll, Taiyang was praying to whatever deities were listening, hoping that today wasn't going to be a colossal goat fuck. Summer was calm, but still doting over the little details. For the three adults, they all knew how serious this day was. It was the day before Signal would open its gates that year.

And somehow, all three of the seasoned hunters had forgotten the necessity that is stationary.

Eventually Qrow had finished whatever he was doing on his scroll, he put the device in his pocket before heading towards the door. "I'll be back in a sec, got to go get something"

Tai looked at his teammate questionably, "Where are you going? I thought you wanted to take Jaune to get his stuff?"

"First off, none of your business, and I do want to take him. But I got to head out. Now" and with that the crimson eyed man kicked the door open whilst drinking from his flask. Summer could only sigh at his action, Qrow had always been doing something when they needed his help with something. The door shut behind him, a little louder than necessary. Summer sighed as she prepared her cup of coffee. She never had tasted a single sip of the beverage before she became a parent, but no that she had to look after three of them it became her saving grace. "You want a cup too?" He nodded without looking at her, still praying. She smirked as she saw her husband clasp his hands together. Taiyang had never been a religious man, but he would always do something along the lines of praying whenever something big would come up. She remembered fondly of the photo that Qrow had taken of Tai on the day of their wedding. He was down on his knees and made a shrine, to whom was still a topic they talked about.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the whistling of the kettle. She took it of the element and poured herself and her husband a cup, to which he thanked her for.

"Do you want to take Jaune, or should I?" he asked before bringing the mug up to his lips. Her eyes darted anywhere else but into his eyes. She coughed nervously before twisting her heel "I don't think it would be good if I took Jaune today"

"Why not?" he asked simply

She sighed, her husband was really stupid sometimes. But somehow she still loved him. "Jaune isn't exactly…calm whenever either Rubes or I am in the same room as him" his eyes snapped to her, a brief moment of understanding

"Okay, but tell me this. When exactly, is he ever calm? Because he still gets anxious whenever I'm around, doesn't mean he automatically hates my guts. It just means that he is still adjusting after… you know" He trailed off, not wanting to reminisce of the horrible event that happened only a few months ago.

Summer nodded her head, understanding the absence of words. The boy lost a lot, and who was she to think that he would recover from something like that so easily. He probably wouldn't fully be with them for a few years, but until then they would make do with whoever Jaune Arc decided to be that day.

Taiyang got up suddenly and coughed into his fist, "Alright then, I guess I'll take him. Do you mind if you take Yang with you? I wanted to talk to him about something before, but he uhh, sorta fell asleep" he started off with an air of confidence, before it went a bit sheepish at the end. He, no doubt, was remembering his _spar_ with his wife the other day.

She shook her head, "I don't mind taking Yang, but what exactly are you going to be talking to him about?"

"Just stuff, mostly about what is going to be expected at Signal. That sort of thing"

She clapped her hands, "Alright then, its settled"

* * *

Qrow typically walked in the way that would remind you of an annoyed teen, with his hands in his pockets and his back hunched forwards. Many questioned why he walked like that, when he had so much to be proud of. His response would always be a shrug accompanied with a grunt. It satisfied them, most of the time. But as he walked through the town of Patch, he walked in a style that wasn't new but was also unfamiliar. His posture wasn't the problem, his back was straight. Instead his gaze was always pointed at the ground, his fingers were tapping each other and his feet were shuffling along the pavement. Overall the crimson eyed man looked, reluctant. If there was ever a time when he didn't want to go see someone, this was it.

He turned the corner and saw his destination. He walked up to the gates and pushed them open, an eerie creek was emitted from the hinges. He would be lying if he said he didn't dread this moment, but he had left it till the last minute to do this. He stepped through the gates, he was regretting this already. He made his way past all the other stones implanted on the ground, taking notice of the various names that seemed familiar, but still foreign.

He looked around, hoping not to find the one name he cared about. He found it near eight other names. He went up to one of them and reached into his bag to reveal a bouquet of white lilies. He was told that it was customary to bring that sort of thing to these sort of events. He laid each individual flower near the stones, until he got up to the stone with that name.

 _Kaylah Arc_

 _Beloved daughter, cherished brother and a loving fiancé.  
May she rest in peace_

The words inscribed in the stone hurt him more than anything else in the world, but he still kept his tears in. He placed the final flower by the stone, before standing back and staring at the stone. He knew that he didn't want to head there in the first, but when he looked at the gravestone he couldn't leave the cemetery. His red eyes were brimmed with tears as he reminisced the days he spent with her. With a sigh he sat down in front of the grave, tears falling freely down his face.

He looked longingly at the words carved in front of him, he cleared his throat "So… Jaune is heading to Signal tomorrow. I know, big day and everything" he paused for a second "I don't know what I'm doing here Kaylah… This is the sort of thing you'd be doing… taking care of Jaune that is, not… talking to yourself in front of your own grave." Another long pause "What… would you do?" Silence "Yea… that seems about right"

More silence

"Yea, maybe he'll do alright there. Who knows? Maybe he'll be like his sister" he chuckled to no one in particular. He looked at the flowers longingly "Sorry I couldn't get you roses, I know you've always liked them. Just thought that for the first time I should get something… more proper I guess" Silence. He didn't know how long he was supposed to stay there for, but he knew that he didn't exactly want to leave. He looked at one of the rings on his finger and sighed, just a few months away too.

For someone to lose a loved one to murder, you'd think that he would try to find whoever did it and rip out their throats. But for Qrow he could only blame himself. Why? If anyone were too ask him why he slouched when he walked around, then he would shrug. But if someone he trusted asked him, he would say that he was ashamed of his semblance. He would slouch so that if someone was near then he would be able to physically distance himself away from them as much as possible, he would say that the things he touched would most likely experience some sort of unfortunate accident, and that was why he kept his hands in his pockets. So when the one person he felt could love him died, all he could do was blame himself.

He decided that he didn't regret coming here, to talk to her. He would need to persuade Jaune to come here one day, and maybe one day he would find whoever killed her. While Jaune himself seemed pretty committed to finding the killer, the kid didn't know where to look or who to ask. Qrow knew though that Jaune was someone that wouldn't give up, and if he was going to find the murderer then Qrow might as well help the kid. He had a few ideas of who was to blame…

One of them was himself.

* * *

Summer usually liked shopping with her daughters, especially if they had the whole day to do so. Even though she did enjoy it, she couldn't help but feel a bit of tension the children. Especially between the two blondes.

She sighed, in the mirror Ruby was practically vibrating in excitement. Out of the three kids, she was probably the one that wanted to be a huntress the most. Obviously Jaune took some persuading, but he warmed up to the idea. However, it was the complete opposite with Yang. She had pursued Grimm with everything she had, up until the point that she almost died. It was at that point that she slowed down, but not enough to make her stop. In a way, the two were similar. Both training to be huntsmen, only to hunt a specific person. The irony was not lost on her, however she didn't like that she knew what Jaune would do once he found said person.

"Are we there yet?" Asked Ruby, with what could possibly be the most annoying question a parent could hear. However Summer found it amusing.

"Not yet, but not much farther honey."

"Okey dokey!" the girl responded, with her usual cheerfulness. Summer hoped her daughter would be able to hold on to that. She had seen to many people become bitter after supposedly being happy, Jaune was one of them. So was Qrow…

She pushed those thoughts away to the side, she didn't want to make the day any worse than it already was. "So, you decided on what you're going to wear for Signal Yang?"

The girl hummed in response for a while, "Not really, but since we're going shopping can I get something new?"

"Course, maybe we can get something for you too ay Ruby?" Said girl only squealed in response, bringing another smile to Summers face.

She undoubtedly loved her daughters, and would do just about anything for them, and as fate would have it. Both girls it seemed to enjoy shopping. Albeit for different purposes, while Summer would shop for the practical things, Yang would immediately dart towards the things that would either be too good to be true or the price tag being enough to cripple the families' grandchildren, and Ruby would go towards the weapons. If this bothered either parents, then they did an amazing job of showing it. If anything, they encouraged the young girls somewhat unnatural reaction to weapons, especially if they were of the mecha-shift kind.

Summer parked the car and helped Ruby out, holding her hand as they crossed the road. Well, Yang and Summer were crossing, but somehow Ruby had simply disappeared and reappeared at the other side of the road. No one really knew where her somewhat unlimited amount of energy came from, but she could guess it came from the cookies that she had accidentally given to Ruby.

That reminded her, she needed to go and get some more milk. It had all seemingly disappeared yet again, probably due to the same culprit that had broken Qrows scythe…sword thingy. She didn't know what to call it. "Alright you two, I'll see you back here in a few minutes. I'm just going to go get some mil-" she stopped herself, before continuing "Raisons, yea… those" she knew that Ruby absolutely despised them, so that she wouldn't follow her into the store.

She knew that together the girls couldn't get up to too much mischief, but that didn't stop her from worrying about the last time the family was there.

Summer shuddered as she walked away from the two girls which were giggling behind her back. Her reaction was to only shudder harder. She briefly wondered if her husband was going through any of the stress she was experiencing right now

* * *

Tai was supposed to take Jaune to a forge, where he would select a weapon to use for his first year at signal. While he was doing this, Summer was supposed to go ahead and get Yang something to use at Signal. Nothing flashy, just something that they'll use for their first year, until they would inevitably have to create something for themselves. So while she was getting something for his daughter, he was supposed to get something for Jaune.

Although, he did already have a weapon, Tai, Qrow and the young blonde had agreed to not tell the somewhat scary entity that was Summer rose. Why? Well, unbeknownst to Jaune, the weapon, Malum amare, wasn't something to be treated as a toy. If Summer found out that Jaune was using an actual weapon designed for fully fledged huntsmen…

Tai would probably have another _talking_ too.

Even though Jaune had been training with Qrow and occasionally with Tai, he still had a long way to go. Which was why the two blondes were sparring, if you could call sparring awkwardly swinging around a blade that looked too big for the young boy, but he still tried his hardest to use it. That at least was something that he couldn't be taught.

With a light punch to the gut from Tai, the younger blond went down on his knees, before huffing angrily and throwing away his sword. "This'll never work!" he stormed away from the small arena.

 _Okay, maybe he isn't as stubborn as I thought_ , Tai thought whilst kicking himself inwardly.

"Jaune. Come back here" Silence answered back to him "C'mon man, don't be like that" his pleas only fell on deaf ears. With a sigh, Tai walked in the same direction Jaune went, only to find him behind the bar making something. Tai quickly stopped Jaune form making whatever it was.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" he gripped his hand, with what was probably more force than what was necessary. Jaune looked at the man with a confused look, before looking at his glass of… milk?

"Just milk man. What'd you think I was going to get?" He asked, tilting his head. Tai quickly got his bearings, not wanting to admit that he thought Jaune was getting something more…

Qrow's style.

The older man sighed as he sat down. "Just, don't… I dunno Jaune." He grabbed himself a drink, one that Summer would definitely disapprove of, and one that Qrow would grin at. He paused as the glass was raised to his lips. He paused again and looked at Jaune with a questionable look.

"I didn't know that we had milk down here?"

"I started to bring it down here after I heard that it helps you grow..." he started to drink it rather quickly

Taiyang didn't know who told him that, but he was fairly sure. "Did Summer say that?"

Jaune nodded, and the older blonde could only laugh "I don't know if you should _only_ drink milk. Back when we first met at Beacon, she would only ever drink milk for the longest time" He chuckled for a little bit "After laying off the milk for a few months, she apparently had her first growth spurt. From that point on, she drank…"

* * *

Somewhere in the mall, Summer Rose sneezed.

* * *

Jaune looked at Tai with a questionable glare. "Really? That?"

"Yep" popping the p "She drank that for another whole year, before moving back to water like a normal person"

"…"

"…"

Jaune put his glass of milk down. "So… in order to get stronger, like aunt summer, I've got to drink-"

"NOPE!" Tai interrupted Jaune "Don't drink that!" he poured himself a glass, not before he muttered "Definitely not that…"

An awkward silence rang between the two blonds. Neither of them really talking.

"Tai?"

"Yea"

Jaune opened his mouth before closing it again. "Why did you want to become a huntsmen?"

The older one paused, remembering the reason he set out to beacon all those years ago…

He sighed "If I told you all the details, then we'd be here all day. For now, I'll just say that me and you-" he gestures to the both of them before continuing "-are similar in that way. So I know how hard it can be to… move on, if you know what I mean?"

Jaune tilted his head slightly, before his eyes widened and nodded. Silence began to ring between the two of them again.

"I'm sorry" Jaune whispered

Tai only looked at the young blond. "He, don't worry about it. It happened when I was younger than you, so I didn't really remember them all that well anyway." The look on Jaunes face didn't change.

Great, I've just spoiled our free day. Tai thought. He got off the seat and bellowed "Welp, if you wanna get better…" he grabbed Malum amare and threw it to Jaune "You got to put in the effort. That's what I say to all of my students, and almost all of them make it to Beacon."

"Almost?"

Tai smiled, "The ones that can't be bothered to push themselves, don't make it there. Now unless you want to-"Jaune leapt towards Tai, trying to go for a sideways blow. Only for the older, more experienced Huntsmen to block it with his bracer.

He smiled at Jaune. "That's what im talking about! Now…" he grabbed the tipped over stool and headed for the arena. "Let's have a proper spar this time, kay Jaune?"

Jaune could only smile at his back. "Alright!"

* * *

Summer was looking at her scroll, with a small frown on her face.

Qrow just texted her a message, one that would've been greatly appreciated a few hours ago. That way she could've saved her time and lien. Definitely my lien, she thought

 _Hey Summer, was thinking 'bout you guys for a sec and realised something  
And I'm surprised Tai didn't even know this but the headmaster was talking to me a few weeks back and said that the students don't buy their weapons, they make them.  
So yea, don't buy Jaune or Yang their weapons._

 _Qrow_

She could only sigh. Of course Qrow would only tell them this now, after she bought Yang her weapon. They were a pair of gauntlets that had spikes on the ends of them, a little barbaric for her taste but the younger blonde frankly thought they were 'Badass'.

She knew they were impractical, had absolutely no reach and would be a nightmare to get used to, but the way her daughters eyes widened when she saw them just made Summers heart melt a little. She still felt a little relieved at the knowledge that Yang wouldn't be fighting with them at such a young age though, even if the young girl wanted desperately to use them.

They were all back in the car, the shopping trip a success with everything they would need for the rest of the year in the back of their car. When they made it back Jaune was looking through his bedroom window, before backing out of her view.

Summer frown only deepened. She had heard why Jaune wanted to go to Signal, and it didn't sit right with her at all. Someone should want to go through a Hunters training to become a symbol of hope for the next generation, not someone who had plans on killing. She sighed, hopefully Signal will change him for the better. A distant memory found its way back into Summers mind

" _I honestly hope he doesn't become a huntsmen" said Juniper Arc_

 _Summer nearly spat out her drink, "How could_ you _of all people say that? You could-" she was interrupted by the woman in front of her holding up her hand, "I don't want him to be a huntsmen yes. But that doesn't mean that I'll stop him, as long as he does it for the right reasons at least."_

 _Summer coughed into her hand, "But don't you think you should be more… Supportive?"_

" _Oh yes, of course. But that can't stop me from worrying about him. I don't want him to be exposed to the real world just yet. Maybe after a few decades" She chuckled slightly "Surely you can understand, unless you want your kids to pursue the same career path as you?"_

" _I feel that it would be both good for them and equally bad for them."_

 _Juniper smiled, "A good answer as always Summer. But… there is still one thing I want to talk to you about?"_

" _Hmm?" she hummed, signalling her to continue_

" _You know about Kaylah's wedding?" She asked. A nod from the raven headed woman, "How exactly would one go about-"_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a peck on her cheek. She turned to see who had done that, only to see light blue eyes stare into her silver one with a smile. "You okay hun? You've just been sitting in the car staring at that one tree."

She smiled, and got out of the car and hugged her husband. "I'm fine, im just thinking about stuff is all. Seriously though, can you believe it? Two of our kids are going to Signal tomorrow. Isn't this like a big deal?"

Tai smiled, "From the reactions of some of the parents at the start of the year, I'd say yea. Sometimes we have to part some of the kids from their moms and dads." He chuckled, walking inside with his wife.

"I guess the shopping trip with the girls went well?" he asked, still smiling

However, his wives smile turned from a genuine one, to one full of mischief. "Yea, it went well. Especially the part where we got Yang's weapon."

"Oh yea? What'd she get?"

"Nothing special, just a pair of spiked gauntlets. By the way, did you get the same text from Qrow that I got?" she pulled out her scroll, showing him the message. Slowly his expression changed of one of simple glee, to one that would simply be summarised by two words that Tai uttered

"Oh fuck..."  
He immediately started to run, which would've been a good idea in most circumstances. The difference being this time, was that he was running for the trees.

Away from the children, or in Summers mind. The witnesses.

With that same exact smile, she walked casually in the same direction as her husband. Not knowing about the smug grin on Qrow's face as he walked down the driveway.

When he saw the woman walk towards the trees, he only smiled. _At least I won't have to deal with anything like that_. He immediately saddened and mentally kicked himself in the dick, cursing his dark humour. He was carrying a bag of cookies for Ruby, some supplies for Yang's favourite –and not at all illegal- drink. He didn't really know what Jaune exactly wanted so he just got him some drawing things.  
 _Kids like those right?_

Once again, Qrow couldn't help but curse his painful inexperience with kids. He had never been good with them, unlike Tai and Summer. They had gracefully adapted to the title of parent extremely well, so much so that Qrow couldn't help but ponder how easy it actually was. And even though he wasn't an actual parent, and more like an older sibling to the kids, all he could think was that kids were a massive handful.

He couldn't help but wonder how Tai became a teacher, dealing with kids every day. If Qrow was put in that situation, then he couldn't' help but think of multiple ways of suicide. Possibly by eating glass shards…

Even though he was terrible with kids, he couldn't help but love the children that he had to live with. Even Jaune, who was only with them for a few months, was starting to make his place in the man's heart. Although Jaune was a little…cold to them all to say the least. He hadn't exactly given Yang or Ruby much attention, often choosing to stay to himself. That was understandable considering the vast amount of bullshit he's been through, but still. He could at least give them a chance.

Out of everyone in the house, Qrow was probably the one that spent the most time with him. Mostly due to Jaune training with the experienced huntsmen a lot, but Qrow also felt like he should, sorta look after the kid. If anything, Qrow was possibly the closest thing that Jaune had to family.

And that terrified him to no end.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well then, I have some stuff I wanna say…**

 **First, I didn't really enjoy volume 4. Going to be blunt, I honestly think that they probably used too many clichés, and even if that sorta their thing…it gets tiring pretty quickly. I'm not saying its downright awful. I'm just going to use something that dads around the world have used.  
I'm not angry, just disappointed**

 **Second, I understand that this chapter was probably bad. In every sense possible. But in order to get to the real juicy stuff I've really wanted to write, I've got to write small stuff like this first.**

 **Thirdly, I understand that it has literally been 4 weeks since I posted the original Chapter 4. I also didn't mean to update Chapter 4 again, but I had to change something that would've triggered some people. I'm genuinely sorry if you thought it was a new chapter, and only saw the same shit again.**

 **Fourth, My update schedule. Gonna be honest here, don't have one. I'm not going to sugar-coat it and say I've been working on it with every spare hour I have, because I honestly only spend maybe a maximum of** _ **2**_ **hours a day working on this. Before Chapter 4, it was the holidays. So I had literally all day to write a chapter or something like that. But, I'm not giving up on this either. I would say that I would work on this whenever I can, but more than likely it'd be when my internet goes to shit and I have nothing better to do. Luckily that happens a lot. So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that maybe I'll be able to update maybe every 3 weeks. I dunno**

 **Last but not least, Reviews. Thank you for your support, it actually makes my day seeing one of those. So if you have anything to say, if it's just a simple text that's just  
"*Pat on the back*"  
Or  
"I hope your family dies in a fiery inferno, but not before they disown you and drown you in a pool of goat blood"  
I'll happily read them, especially if it's anything like the second one. If someone does write something like that, they'll probably just be my mate that pointed that mistake out in Chapter 4.**

 **Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. Without further ado, I shall bid thee good day/night**

 **-Afro Starfish**


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